Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Evidence of Fiber Manipulation

Every so often I do remember to post pictures of what I've been working on, to remind you (and myself) that one of the key topics around here is knitting.

Exhibit A: My First Niddy Noddy, in Use.

It contains 44 yards of my first yarn, spun from the corriedale/montadale fiber I got from Susan, who got it from the school janitor/shepherd she knows in Maine. I only had one bobbin, and wanted to empty the bobbin, so I used Navajo ply to turn it into a 3-ply. Dashed clever people, the Navajos. As yarn, it sucks. But it's my first yarn, and I love it for that reason.Exhibit B: My First Yarn, in Ball Format

Because I just can't stop looking at it. I mean–it's yarn! And I made it! In comparison, the thrill of graduating from Harvard was minimal. (The little sheep are a present from C, who found them in New York City. They glow in the dark.)

Exhibit C: The Glencora Baby Shawl, Edging in Progress

Glencora started off as the February baby shawl in Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac. She said I'd get bored with the plain stitching and she was darn tootin.' So I threw in the tulip, which is Tulip Lace II from Barbara Walker Volume I. Then I added the rosebuds, which are from Sharon Miller's Heirloom Knitting, a book I have come to love more than some of my previous boyfriends.

I'm slightly disturbed by the proximity of the outer rosebuds to the edge of the shawl, but am pretending I can ameliorate this in blocking.Exhibit D: Close-Up of a Screw-Up

The edging on Glencora is the Wave Edging from Heirloom Knitting. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this edging–it's enjoyable to work, looks pretty, and is far simpler than the uninitiated would imagine.

On my first go at it, I was attaching it with the usual k2tog. It looked like rubbish. So I switched to s1, k1, psso. This I liked - it gave a cute little plait along the joined edge. When I got the corners and began to insert extra rows for fullness, I considered what to do, and tried it out, and found it wasn't working properly. There's an apparent difference, as you can see. I toyed with undoing all those rows and starting the corner over.

And then I decided to just repeat the mistake equally on all four corners and call it a design feature.

I see what Ryan means ..maybe if they light up Dolores could wear as as earrings when clubbing.The yarn is ...errr yarn but I can imagine how you feel as the first thing I knitted made me feel great .It is exactly the colour Dad needs for the background of the bland "Persian Poppies" he wants Mum to make .Now we know what a niddy-noddy is ..thanks. Holly

That baby shawl is stunning. You do great work. Obviously I need Heirloom Knitting, because I don't have enough knitting books already. OK, maybe I do, but I don't have that one.

Your first handspun looks like mine. I think everyone's does. I still keep mine around for sentimental reasons and spinning demos. (Q: How can you spin so evenly? A: Practice. This is what it used to look like.)

(Is it just me, or is "how do you do that?" kind of a stupid question? Like anything else, I practiced, I read, I practiced, I got a little help, I practiced, I practiced.)

Curses, Franklin! I finally decide which shirts I want, place my order, get the shirts (the sheep chorus line and the Venus de Milo) and have only a day or two of gloating over them before you put up another shirt I want.

I plan to wear one of the shirts to the MD S&W...my daughter is lobbying for the Venus one.

I think your yarn looks great for a first one. Knit yourself one of those little bunnies that Lee Ann makes (the pattern is over on Heartstrings under Free Patterns). It can live with the sheep, then.

I was in the folklore centre today for my daughter's violin lesson and amongst the CDs I saw one on the theme of spinning. Shubert (with words from Goethe) and a few other things. I immediately thought of you. Let me know if you want details.

Hmm....glow in the dark sheep..... what was C thinking? I'd buy them in a heartbeat because I'm nuts, but somehow I don't see you as a glow-in-the-dark sheep kind of guy. I of course can be wrong and will duly accept any retorts.

My first handspun was full of lumps and bumps and looked like a hairball. But it was my first handspun! Don't make anything out of it. Treasure it as your first, warts and all.

It's beautiful, that yarn. And now you are utterly sunk, my sweet: "can't stop looking at it" is a well-known symptom of Secret Spinner Syndrome. I fully expect tales of public spinning in the near future, because your yarn will only get better, which means you'll want to look at it more, make more, buy a fleece...

Your first yarn is something precious. Make sure you knit with it and keep it! I knit with mine. It is a combination lace-to-bulky pile of crap, knit on needles at least five sizes too small. I'm going to buy a shadow box and frame it, complete with needle, on the wall of my new studio.

Wonderful yarn! So glad you went with the Navajo ply -- and for your first time! Nothing to fear now.

Well, now, don't you think you should have done a couple more rounds after that last rose? Yes, I think you should just rip out that edging, and do that right now. Add a couple more rounds; you'll be glad you did!

Those corners? Were you doing a couple of short rows in there? That should help out and you will still be able to continue that braided edge! Yes, you will just have to start over, I think! ;-)

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